Canada-bound farm workers hopeful

FARM workers who want to travel to Canada to be part of its seasonal agricultural workers’ programme are hopeful at least some of them will still be able to do so.

On Wednesday, Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus told the anxious farm workers they “can be assured” that the government was weighing all the pros and cons of allowing them to travel to Canada.

Baptiste-Primus said the issues have been clearly identified and clinically ventilated and she has submitted a note to Cabinet on the matter.

“A decision on the way forward should be known imminently.

“In the final analysis, the matter for consideration is ensuring that the farmer workers are fully seized of the pros and cons and have been allowed sufficient time to deliberate, discuss and sensitise their families and establish the necessary support mechanisms for their dependents during their absence under the pandemic crisis or determining whether the Government should endorse the travel of nationals to Canada to participate in the farm programme in the provinces of Ontario and Alberta; conscious of the risks to their lives and the pain and suffering which could descend upon their families,” the minister said.

She also said the government will askfor written agreements from the farm workers who are allowed to travel, indemnifying it from any liability arising out of any adverse consequence they may experience because of covid19.

Speaking to Newsday, Sidique Ali Hosein, one of the farm workers, said they were hopeful and were waiting on the ministry to determine who will be allowed to travel, once permission is given.

“We are not sure if it is all of us,” he said.

In a previous interview, Newsday was told TT's migrant workers will be willing to sign a waiver.

Baptiste-Primus said the Canadian consulate in TT had granted 178 Canadian visas valid until December 15. They were expected to travel between March 18 and April 8 to work on farms in Ontario and Alberta.

Canada’s borders were closed on March 18, but its federal government lifted restrictions for migrant agriculture workers. At that time, 74 migrant workers from TT were expected to leave on March 18.

“The challenge facing the TT Government, therefore, was that of making a determination as to whether it would have been prudent to knowingly expose these citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, and by extension their families, to provinces in Canada which were experiencing high levels of covid19 infections; not the least of whom were farmers who were infected from among the very population of workers from neighbouring Caribbean countries who had already succumbed to the risk.

Baptiste-Primus also gave the number of covid19 cases in Canada, in particular in the Ontario and Alberta provinces.

She said when the travel restrictions were lifted for migrant farm workers, the infection rate in the two provinces took a steep climb, and the situation remains “increasingly tenuous.”